2. Tessa
2
Tessa
I hang my dress on the rusted wire of the post. Pelahatchie Peach Grove , the sign reads. The pink background is wearing away, but the round, black lettering hasn’t faded and looks as if it might burn the skin right off my fingertips if I were to touch it. I’m not taking any chances, especially in this heat.
As I walk through the trees, the sun is hanging like a king in the sky. Summertime in southern Georgia is merciless. You can’t do anything here without the sun trying to scorch you alive. It’s hard to stand this temperature. My lungs ache with each breath of air into them, as if I’m breathing through a straw. I was born in Pelahatchie and I’ve lived here all my life, but I’ve never gotten used to the heat.
There’s a small pond in between some of the trees in the grove. Unless you’ve been here before, you wouldn't realize it from the road, a detail I’ve been taking advantage of. While it doesn’t exactly cool you off, it’s better than nothing and I’ve been using it as my personal swimming hole since I came home from school a month ago. I don’t have permission to be here, but we know the owner and what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.Besides, this little bit of excitement is about the only thing getting me through the mundane summer days at home.
The shiver of goosebumps across my skin feels good as I lower myself under the water. The sky is clear and bright when my head peeks from beneath the surface. These tiny, contented moments when I float are some of my favorites. With my arms outstretched, gazing at the clouds, I can exist without the worry I’ve been carrying for so long. When I can finally release the breath I’ve been holding.
I move my arms gently, making ripples in the calm water. There’s not even a hint of a breeze, but shapes shift in the clouds and I try to make them out, playing the same summertime game every kid plays. I’m trying to make one of the more wispy clouds take shape when I hear it. A low catcall.
I know exactly who it comes from because I’ve heard that sound many times before. Jerking upright, I turn to find Beau McAbee staring from the bank. He’s in his usual stance; hands on his hips, grinning from ear to ear. Usually his handsome face makes the girls around here go weak in the knees, but that grin doesn’t have quite the same effect on me.
“What do you think you’re doin’, Tess?”
He moves closer to the edge of the water and though his voice sounds hard, there’s a hint of laughter buried within it. There always is with Beau. He can’t stay serious for long.
“I think a better question is what are you doing here, McAbee? Aren’t you supposed to be working?”
“You keeping tabs on me?” When I don’t answer, he smiles and says, “I had to check a few of the trees for rot. Quite a surprise to find you, though. Somewhere you’re not supposed to be.” He leans forward as he scolds me and my temper flares.
“I wasn’t aware you were my keeper either.”
That stupid, smug grin of his widens his face. I hate his Cheshire cat smile, like he knows something I don’t. “Wipe that smirk off your face,” I deadpan.
“I’m still wondering what you’re doing here. All by yourself.”
“You know very well what I’m doing,” I scoff, holding a hand out to the bright, blue sky. “It’s hot as hell today.”
“It’s hot out here,” he pulls at the neck of his t-shirt. “But it doesn't have anything to do with the temperature.”
“Oh, come on.” My eyes roll on their own. “Staring is rude. I should slap that smile off you.”
“Go right ahead, honey.”
He ruins everything. Always has. We grew up together and he’s always been my tormentor. My parents love him and all the girls in this town have been head over heels since they found out the cootie rumor wasn’t true. But it doesn’t make any difference to me. I can’t stand him and he knows it.
My first clear memory of Beau is catching him stealing candy money from the offering plate at church when we were six years old. He looked at me with his finger to his lips and old Mrs. Wilson, our Sunday school teacher, wrongly assumed we were co-conspirators. I hadn’t done a thing, but I got punished right alongside him. That sealed my opinion and it hasn’t changed much since.
But for some reason or another, my apathy has never bothered Beau. It certainly hasn’t deterred him from taunting me every time he had an opportunity. It’s never stopped him from flirting, no matter how long it’s been since we’ve seen each other. He made me a promise when we were kids that he would marry me and he still hasn’t gotten it through his thick skull that it’s never going to happen.
Beau’s had girlfriends. There was even a girl he dated for two years in college, but that promise has never been far from his mind. Every time I came home to visit, he’d find some way to remind me. Thankfully, he’s enough of a gentleman that he didn’t mention it while they were together, but it’s been over for quite a while. Now I’m right back to the number one spot. He’s set his sights on me and I still haven’t figured out why.
He looks down and I see his shoulders shake with laughter. I shout, “You mind telling me what you find so funny?”
“Oh, nothing. It’s only that you’re the one trespassing and you have the nerve to threaten me . And you’re doing it all stark naked,” he adds with a raise of his eyebrows.
That’s when I look down. I’ve been standing here in broad daylight in nothing but my skin. Really, Tessa? Hell of a time to forget you’re naked. But I don't cower, especially not from Beau. I drop back into the water slowly and let a sensual smile spread across my face, hoping it looks a lot more comfortable than I really feel. I pray he takes my scarlet cheeks as a sunburn.
“You swim in all your clothes, McAbee?”
I can see the challenge written all over his face and there’s nothing he loves more than a challenge from me. “I’m just sorry I didn’t get an invite to skinnydip,” he says. “We could make it a lot hotter out here.”
He toes off his shoes and my nerves jump. “I think your lack of an invite tells you I don’t want your company.” When he doesn’t stop undressing, I call, “Beau? Beau, what are you doing?”
His smirk is predatory. “Darlin’, this grove is my property.” His words trail off and the implication sets in.
“You mean your daddy’s property.” It’s childish but I can’t think of a better comeback with my heart racing like this. His shirt comes off next and I watch him undo the buckle on his belt. “I mean it, Beau. You stick so much as a toe in this water and I’ll…”
“You’ll what?” He interrupts. “Face it. You can get out and make good on your threats, which I’d be all too happy to see. Or you can shut up and say it to my face when I get in, but I’m coming in either way.”
My heart hammers and I try like hell not to show it. I watch him as he undresses, trying to figure out my next move. I’m coming up with nothing and it has everything to do with the chiseled man-child in front of me. Who, I’m relieved to see, has left his underwear on.
I’m not sure if relief is the right word. I may not like him, but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate what he looks like with nothing but a pair of tight, black briefs on. The thin, gold chain he wears around his neck flashes in the sun and my eyes are drawn to his chest. All that tan, sun-kissed skin over tight muscles. There’s plenty to, I lick my lips, appreciate . He looks up and winks, knowing he caught me staring. As annoying as it is, the move looks good on him. He’s confident, I’ll give him that. But then again, he has every right to be.
He swaggers into the water, coming straight for me. Having him stalk me like prey is a little unnerving, but it’s a little exciting too. There’s a definite swoop in my belly that’s never been there before, but I won’t let him win. As soon as he’s within a foot, I kick with all I have. I’m almost gone when he grabs hold of my ankle and pulls me back. As he drags me underwater, I realize too late that he knew exactly what I was planning.
“Damnit, Beau! Let go of me!” I sputter when he yanks me up.
“Not for anything in this world.”
I try to kick away, but it only helps him slide his hand further up my leg. He squeezes my calf before sliding his hand leisurely up my knee, my thigh…. When I look down, something about the way his fingers are gripping so tightly, I have to shake off a shiver of anticipation.
“Beau!” I screech indignantly, water and anger rolling off me in waves.
“Yeah, sweetheart?”
“Stop calling me that and let go.”
He laughs. “You look like a drowned rat, all pissed off and angry. I like it.”
“I am angry!” I try to slap him then but when I raise my arm, he catches it and pins both hands to my sides. We struggle for a second before he purrs at me. Actually purrs like a cat being scratched behind the ears and the sound does something to my insides.
“Keep wiggling like that and it’ll make me do something that’ll frighten the fish.”
I freeze. G ood Lord , that voice. Has he always sounded so gravelly? There is absolutely no reason Beau McAbee should be making my skin tingle, but when he speaks like that, it does. I’ve been avoiding him for so many years, ignoring the comments he makes about my body or the way every look lingers. But somewhere in the back of my mind, I wonder what it would be like. What his lips would feel like if I kissed them?
He’s close enough for me to see there are darker specks of blue in his eyes, tiny streams of cobalt I’ve never noticed. Water droplets run through his facial hair and down his neck and my eyes follow their trail. I’ve never let myself look now I can’t look away. He’s always promised his teasing would turn into more, but I’ve never accepted it. We’ve spent our entire lives playing cat and mouse. Every time he taunted me in class or cornered me at a Friday night football game, I’d say something snarky and walk away. But right now, it doesn’t really feel all that bad to be caught up in his embrace.
Other than stiff, one-armed hugs the last four years whenever we were forced to see each other, I can’t remember the last time he actually touched me. When I think of his hands, earlier and now pinning my wrists, a skitter of excitement runs down my spine. I’ve never had someone touch me so roughly, hold me down like this. I couldn’t move if I wanted to .
“This is better than the time you let me look up your dress when we were eight.”
His words snap me out of my traitorous thoughts and I remember the anger I'm supposed to be feeling.
“I never let you do that, you tricked me.”
“You let me. Just like you’re going to let me kiss you right now.”
“Don’t you dare,” I grit out.
“Oh yeah? You gonna stop me?” He leans in.
I’m not one to surrender, especially where Beau is concerned, but suddenly I can’t find it in me to push against his hold. It feels too good standing in his grip and my curiosity has always been a living thing. Once I’m intrigued, I have to see it through. I burned my hands so many times as a kid because pretty flames are too tempting not to touch. I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help wanting to.
I stare up at him and raise one eyebrow, but even I don’t know if it’s a question or an answer. He gives me one of those famous McAbee grins and his fingers on my wrists loosen, testing whether or not I’ll try to bolt. When I don’t move, he circles his hands around my waist instead and my breath hitches. He brushes my hair back and his lips find a place right below my ear.
“I’ve always wanted to do this,” he whispers.
Would it really be so bad to find out what all the fuss is about?
I stand stock-still. And he was right, damn him. I let him. He hovers over my lips for the briefest of seconds, like he would still let me get away if I wanted to. But a beat passes. When he leans in, my hands shake like they want to slide up his pecs. Clearly, my rationality is nowhere to be found, but I think I’m done looking for it.
His kiss is tender and sweet at first, but when his tongue slides across mine, warmth spreads all over. I’m not gonna pretend I’m one of those girls who’ve never been kissed, but I’ve never been kissed like this before. What started out gently gets hotter and hotter until I’m the one who’s physically hungry for him . I haven’t ever imagined kissing Beau, but if this is how he kisses other girls, I understand the hype.
He pulls back slightly and I fall forward, trying and failing to catch myself before he notices. I put my fingers on my lips in disbelief and glance up at him shyly. I must be having a heatstroke for that to have felt as good as it did, but oh, what the hell? Perhaps there are perks to being delirious.
This time I’m the one who leans in and I feel his smile against my mouth. We kiss until we can’t breathe and when I pull back, I catch an odd look cross his face. I expect to see triumph in his clear, blue eyes, but it’s something different. Before I can ask him what that look meant, I hear someone outside the pond say, “I never thought I’d see the day.”
He’s still gripping my chin, but at the sound of the voice, we spring apart as if scalded. I drop back into the water to cover myself, but Beau catches on to the owner of the voice before I do.
“Shep! When did you get back? I thought we weren’t going to see you until Christmas?”
Shep, Beau’s older brother, is standing on the bank, grinning Beau’s grin. If I’d been wearing a little more, I’d rush out to hug him. He’s been my favorite McAbee boy for as long as I can remember. For a while, he was my favorite boy in Pelahatchie, but we’ve all done some growing up since then. Despite wishing he’d have shown up a little later, I take a good, long look at him. He’s looking distinctly not boyish these days.
Shep points to his left shoulder. “Tendonitis. Doc put me out for a few weeks. I decided to come home and see what you were up to. Looks like it’s a good thing I did.” He gives the two of us a pointed look and crosses his arms over his chest. I guess we’re standing pretty close still so I shift slightly away from Beau.
“It’s good to see you, Tessa.”
He smiles, keeping his eyes on my face. I’m not shy, but the unconscious way he tries not to look chastises me. It’s such a Shep move, a gentleman to his core, but I’d give anything for someone else to have caught us.
I duck my head, embarrassed. “Hey, Shep,”
“Seems I couldn’t save you from my little brother this time.”
Beau answers for me. “She didn’t really want saving this time anyway.”
He steps away before rushing back quickly and stealing a kiss. I’m so shocked I can’t do anything but squeak out his name. He laughs like he doesn’t care at all that he’s causing a scene. Arrogant ass.
“One for the road,” he whispers before trailing his heated gaze down my body and wading out of the pond.
Shep huffs and rubs at the back of his neck. “Took me forever to find you. I walked the entire orchard before coming here.”
Beau teases in a baby voice. “Aww, is the city boy tired of being on the farm already?”
“Shut up.” Shep chuckles and shoves Beau as he gathers his clothes off the ground.
“Do your feet hurt?” Beau mocks. He rolls his shirt and whips it at his brother, popping him on the side of his leg.
As I watch them playing, I catch myself with a soft smile and stop immediately. It was one little kiss, Tessa. Grow up. I will not be one of those girls who turns into jelly anytime Beau comes around. Shep must notice because he laughs out loud.
“I think I might be jealous, little brother.” He tugs on the brim of his hat, but he’s looking at me when Beau asks why. “Tessa’s never smiled at me like that.”
Both sets of eyes swing to me and it’s suddenly too hot under the heat of the sun and their gazes. Beau grins shamelessly and punches Shep in the arm as they walk away together through the trees. Shep turns to give me one last look before they’re out of sight.
Once they’re gone, I dunk myself under the water. What the hell just happened?